Now, then, as proof of it not being intentional (because this is NRS we're talking about): Kotal's 12 xx cmd grab tick works just fine - you cannot unblock to go through it or duck it. Kano 24 xx cmd grab works fine if you let go of block standing, so you have to neutral duck it because it's high, just like you'd expect from the game's rules. Geras f2 xx cmdgrab works, because of course it does. Aaaand... Nightwolf's some strings work, just not 11 xx cmdgrab, for example.
Any down-poke into cmdgrab works fine. It's just all random nonsense that you have to learn case by case, not like we have rules for this.
It is case by case, but it's not random; there are consistent rules at work. It has to do with the gap between the blockstring and the command grab you're canceling into.
As far as I can tell in the labbing I've done, these rules apply to every command grab in the game:
- Is there a gap between the blockstring and the CG special cancel? If yes, the blockstring is a tick throw; if no, the string won't tick.
- Is the gap large enough for duck/jump animation to come out? If yes, then you have to duck/jump to beat the tick throw; if no, you can beat the throw just by releasing block.
For example, Nightwolf's block cancel advantage off his 11 string is 11 frames, and his CG has a 12 frame startup; that's a 1 frame gap. The fact that there's a gap at all is what allows the CG to tick, because the opponent has to be out of block stun for the grab to connect. NW's 111 has 20 frames of block cancel adv, so there's no gap and his CG won't tick.
The size of the gap determines how you're allowed to beat the tick throw. 1 frame isn't enough time even to duck, so the game allows you to beat the throw just by releasing block. NW's s1~CG and s2~CG tick throws are also 1-frame gaps, so you can beat them all the same way.
OTOH, NW's d1 has 6 frames of block cancel adv, which means there's a 6 frame gap in d1~CG (most pokes have very small block cancel advantage, probably to make it risky to spam special cancels, but it's also why they're almost always tick throws). NW's f2121 has 9 frames of block cancel adv, so f2121~CG is a 3-frame gap tick throw. Since the gap is large enough for a duck to come out, the game forces you to duck (or jump) to beat those particular tick throws.
For Robo, his s1~CG and 121~CG both have a 1 frame gap, so they tick but you can beat them just by releasing block. His d1~CG and d3~CG have a 6 frame gap and it's a mid CG, so you have to jump to beat them. His d4 has 11 frames of block cancel adv and doesn't tick.
Whether you call a 1-frame tick throw "fake" is an arbitrary semantic/philosophical choice, imo. To each their own. Every tick throw is based on the frame data, so in my personal opinion, none of them are more real or fake than any other.
Yeah, I feel like the 121 tick is just an unforeseen consequence of their tiny frame-data adjustment. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets taken out in the next patch. Like you said, it's a total scrub killer.
Maybe, but I kinda think it was intentional. If all NRS wanted to do was make 121 safe (-8 to -5), they could've just removed 3 frames of block recovery and called it a day. They chose to get there by removing 5 frames of block recovery and adding 2 frames of general recovery. I can't think of any reason to do that
except to create a gap in 121~CG that wasn't there before. The gap is
just large enough to tick, no more, no less.
And why not? Robo needed (still needs) buffs. It's cool and gives him new mind games, but I don't think anyone can call it broken.
